Maria Theresa of Spain

Maria Theresa of Spain (10 September 1638-30 July 1683) was Queen consort of France from 9 June 1660 to 30 July 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV of France.

Biography
Maria Theresa was the daughter of King Felipe IV of Spain and Elisabeth of France, and she was an Archduchess of Austria. In 1660, she married her cousin King Louis XIV of France in an attempt to end the hostilities caused by the Franco-Spanish War, and she became known as a tragic queen. She was virtuous and pious, but five of her six children died in early childhood, and she was forced to tolerate King Louis' many love affairs. She had no influence in the French court or government except for 1672, when she briefly served as regent due to her husband's command of troops during the Franco-Dutch War, and she died from an abscess on her arm in 1683 at the early age of 44. Her grandson Philippe inherited the Spanish throne in 1700 after the death of her younger half-brother Carlos II of Spain.